GENEVA (4 March 2021) – Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and other horrific acts of terrorism purportedly carried
out in the name of Islam, institutional suspicion of Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim has escalated to epidemic
proportions, a UN expert told the Human Rights Council today.
The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Ahmed Shaheed, said numerous States — along with regional
and international bodies — have responded to security threats by adopting measures which disproportionately target
Muslims and define Muslims as both high-risk and at risk of radicalization.
“Islamophobia builds imaginary constructs around Muslims that are used to justify state-sponsored discrimination,
hostility and violence against Muslims with stark consequences for the enjoyment of human rights including freedom of
religion or belief,” he said.
In a report to the Council, Shaheed said widespread negative representations of Islam, fear of Muslims generally and security and
counterterrorism policies have served to perpetuate, validate and normalize discrimination, hostility and violence
towards Muslim individuals and communities.
“In such climates of exclusion, fear and distrust, Muslims report that they often feel stigma, shame and a sense that
they are ‘suspect communities’ that are being forced to bear collective responsibility for the actions of a small
minority,” he said.
The report cites European surveys in 2018 and 2019 that show an average of 37 percent of the population held
unfavourable views of Muslims. In 2017, some 30 percent of Americans surveyed viewed Muslims in a negative light.
Shaheed said that Islamophobic discrimination in both the public and the private sphere often make it difficult for a
Muslim to be a Muslim. Disproportionate restrictions on the ability of Muslims to manifest their beliefs, the
securitization of religious communities, limits on access to citizenship, socioeconomic exclusion and pervasive
stigmatization of Muslim communities are among the pressing concerns noted in the report.
In Muslim minority states, he added, Muslims are frequently targeted based on visible ‘Muslim’ characteristics, such as
their names, skin colour and clothing, including religious attire, including headscarves.
Shaheed said that Islamophobic discrimination and hostility were often intersectional, such as where ‘Muslim women may
face a “triple penalty” as women, minority ethnic and Muslim’. “Harmful stereotypes and tropes about Muslims and Islam
are chronically reinforced by mainstream media, powerful politicians, influencers of popular culture and in academic
discourse,” he added.
The report emphasised that critiques of Islam should never be conflated with Islamophobia, adding that international
human rights law protects individuals, not religions. The criticism of the ideas, leaders, symbols or practices of Islam
is not Islamophobic per se; unless it is accompanied by hatred or bias towards Muslims in general, Shaheed said.
“I strongly encourage States to take all necessary measures to combat direct and indirect forms of discrimination
against Muslims and prohibit any advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to violence,” the UN expert
said.
ENDS
Mr. Ahmed Shaheed (the Maldives) was appointed as Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief by the UN Human Rights Council in 2016. Mr. Shaheed is Deputy Director of the Human Rights Centre at the University of
Essex, UK and Senior Fellow of the Raoul Wallenberg Human Rights Centre in Canada. He was Foreign Minister of the
Maldives from 2005 to 2007 and from 2008 to 2010. He led the country’s efforts to sign and ratify all nine international
human rights Conventions and to implement them in law and practice. Mr. Shaheed is the former Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in Iran.